Ideology Definition

Hegemony- Hegemony is having the power or control by a country or a group which makes them dominant.

Ideology- Ideology is a filter that true believers uses to explain conditions evaluate actions and orient the people.

Representation- Representation is describing something or someone in a certain what or form of nature, such as: John is represented as a stereotype of a geeky character as he wears comfortable clothes, glasses and heavy braces.

Stereotype- Stereotyping is judging certain people, objects or places by the way the individual thinks of them. For example, blondes are represented as stupid who has been expressed hugely by the media.

How is narrative presented in Lost?

How is narrative presented in Lost?

During the course of the first episode of ‘Lost’, it is filmed linear as the beginning shows the morning or midday which soons morphs into evening and night. This fits in with the characters as the morning being active and aware into the more relaxing state they are in at night. The characters Jack and Kate are talking at night near a fire which shows a romantic setting and relaxed state rather than the panicked moment of Kate sewing up Johns wound in the morning.

From the first episode, the viewer sees Jack helping out everyone on the island by saving their life or fixing injuries, this portrays him as the hero. He is the person that everyone goes to if they have a problem and the whole episode is focused on him, as he is the first character the viewers see. An opposition to this is the character Soya who is portrayed as the villain or the troublemaker, the audience gathers this information from the way he lights his cigarette and giving an evil look towards the camera. The audience can also get the impression that there may be conflict between the hero and villain or some sort of fight.

 At the end of the episode, a pilot gets killed by a unknown creature, this creates a cliffhanger which makes the audience want to watch more and shows a dilemma; not only they are on a stranded island but also being hunted by a predator.

How does Lost fit the convention of TV drama?

How does Lost fit the convention of TV drama?

In the ‘Lost’ series, there are many themes present such as romance, thriller, anger and little scenes of comedy which all add up to a TV drama.

The series of Lost mainly focuses on the characters Jack and Kate who are both secretly in love with each other but do not show it in early stages. This gains attention from viewers as it shows more of their personality and how they are with each other. In these types of situations, a dilemma occurs in such as a love triangle which attracts more viewers and makes them want to find out more about what happens.

Also, ‘Lost’ is a thriller as it gives the audience an adventure and creates tension for the audience where an upcoming unsuspected scene is about emerges. During the first episode, scenes show people dying such as characters being sucked into the plane’s turbines or the actual plane crash process, this presents the scenes grimly but realistic. In the scene, where the characters Jack, Kate and Charlie are being chased into the jungle, startling scenes associated with sudden music makes the audience jump are presented dramatically which makes the audience feel fear.

Also, from the very first episode, the audience and automatically pick out the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters. The character Jack is seen helping out the survivors with their injuries and problems which make him the ‘hero’ or ‘good guy’ in this episode, another character is presented with him smoking and having his eyes squinted, giving off a bad vibe and attitude, the audience can easily detect this by observing him without him even saying dialogue. This is important as TV dramas present their characters in different ways, from their personality to their costume.

The costume of the characters can also tell the audience about their personality, such as a young woman is wearing revealing clothes and shorts which tell the audience that she is a flirt. Also, the main character, Jack, is wearing a suit which makes him very formal and a reliable person.

Camera angles and shots are important in TV dramas as they make the audience feel certain emotions or make them understand more about the characters or the environment they are in. In lost, shot reverse shots and close ups are used frequently to show characters emotions  and interactions clearly which makes the audience feel what they are going through and can perceive what they are thinking at that current time.

Music and sounds also make up Lost as a TV drama as the music played in this episode creates tension and suspense for the audience. This makes them intrigued and wants to watch more of the programme, the music can also make the audience understand more about the characters and turn scenes from typical to dramatic. An example of this is when the pilot in the cockpit is dragged up by a creature exposing blood on the windows; the music playing while this scene is being filmed is sudden loud tension music which injects fear into the viewer while also creating realism.

How is realism constructed in this episode of ‘Lost’?

How is realism constructed in this episode of ‘Lost’?

The aspects of realism are constructed in this episode of lost in a variety of ways, from sounds to effects, and dialogue to multiple camera angles.

In this episode of Lost, the music that has been edited in has caused many effects and moods on the viewer. In one scene, the character Jack is observing the plane crash with people screaming, while this scene is being presented, high tension music is being played in the background to create adrenaline and anxiety for the audience. Without music being played, scenes would be very plain and boring for the viewer as music creates the mood, if there was no music being played when the characters were being chased in the jungle, it would suffice the audience therefore realism is not created.

Non-digetic sounds and digetic sounds are used frequently in the episode to create realism. Non-digetic sounds such as birds chirping and trees rustling in the jungle make the audience believe that the characters are actually on an island rather than a movie set. This also makes the audience feel like they are with the characters, experiencing every moment. Digetic sounds are used in the episode to create realism by making ‘real noises’, these sounds such as door creaking or chopping of wood doesn’t need editing thus making the sounds natural and believable.

Multiple camera angles and shots are used in this episode to create realism in different ways. In the scene, where Jack is looking up towards the sky and lying on the jungle ground, a POV shot is used showing the sky and the tip of the trees, this makes the audience feel they are experiencing Jack’s thoughts and views which makes it believable. Also, jump cuts are used frequently when showing different characters on the beach which creates adrenaline for the audience and makes them confused slightly as what is going to happen next. 

The dialogue and storyline of this episode must be believable and realistic otherwise the audience would show lack of interest and enthusiasm to watch the show. The storyline of ‘Lost’ is a plane crash occurs on an island exposing many characters of different personalities, this storyline isn’t basic and is quite complex to film therefore it must be as realistic as possible. The show does this by actor’s dialogue and the way they act which makes their emotions natural, if the actors over-acted their lines or didn’t express their emotions as much as they could, this would make the characters unbelievable and not produce realism.

But the main key of realism being presented in Lost is the setting. The show is opposed to be set on a tropical island therefore the ocean, sand, trees; rocks must be believable and look real. The show can not look like a movie set or the viewers will catch on and not believe the show.

discuss the sound techniques used in the first episode of Lost.

Discuss the sound techniques used in the first episode of Lost. What effect do they have on the audience?

In the first episode of ‘Lost’, many digetic and non-digetic sounds are used for a variety of different reasons. During the first scenes of this episode, the character Jack wakes up in a jungle on a tropical island. When the camera shows Jack lying on the ground looking up towards the sky and trees, many non-digetic sounds such as birds and trees rustling from the wind are added to create realism.

The main purpose of non-digetic sounds is to create realism and too add more of an effect on the object or person making the sound such as increase of volume. Also, the sounds make the viewer feel like they are actually there and can create imagery in their head. The scene where the turbine of the plane is spinning has been added a non-digetic sound to make the whirring of the turbine more realistic and louder, this makes the audiences believe this scene is real and intrigues them to watch more of the programme.

As well as non-digetic sounds being presented in this episode, digetic sounds are recorded too. These sounds also create realism as a scenario such as a door creak sounds perfectly normal and believable to the viewer, these sounds are also easier to record as they can originate from the actual source rather than added in. Scenes of dialogue between the characters Jack and Kate are digetic as this speech is coming directly from the characters which are clear to the viewer. 

Music has also been added in frequently this episode to set the mood for the audience. At the beginning of the episode where the character Jack notices the plane crash, tension music is played to simply create tension and confusion for the audience. This music makes the scenes more effective and can input emotions into the audience such as fear or sorrow. During the scene where the characters are startled by the unknown creature, loud music suddenly plays to make the characters jump such as the character Charlie startling Kate which also startles us. This technique is used frequently in thrillers and horrors to input fear into the audience which draws them into the programme more. Music is sub-consciously played in the background which doesn’t necessarily grabs the viewers attention as they are too busy focusing on the actual storyline, but it sets the mood for the reader. For e.g. A scene shows the characters Jack, Kate and Charlie examining a part of the plane, during this scene, jungle music with tribal drums are played to set the mood of tension for the audience and to support the fact that they are in the jungle, if this music wasn’t played, the scene would be plain and boring to the viewer as there is no ‘mood’.

Music, digetic and non-digetic sound is important in Lost as it creates realism and sets the mood for the viewer. These sounds are essential when trying to grab the viewer’s attention and make them hooked to the programme as without these elements, the scenes would be boring and non effective.